England stand on the brink of crashing out of Europe entirely as both Manchester giants suffered losses tonight in the Europa League.
Manchester City, missing Yaya Toure to suspension and losing Vincent Kompany early to a calf injury, fell at Sporting Lisbon 1-0. At Old Trafford, Athletic Bilbao taught Manchester United a sharp lesson, beating them all over the park en route to a famous 3-2 win.
The Europa League’s round of 16 wraps up next Thursday, with City hosting Sporting and United facing a tricky test in Spain. Fox Soccer is the new home of the Europa League with live telecasts beginning next season. This year, every game is available via DirecTV and GolTV, and every game can be followed in real time via Twitter @FoxSoccerTrax.
The game of the day was indisputably the breathless encounter at Old Trafford. Brilliantly played and slowly dominated by Marco Bielsa’s Athletic side, this match served notice that Sir Alex Ferguson’s team is more than a cut below the best in Europe this year. In every respect tonight, Athletic were the better side, throwing wave after wave at an outclassed United midfield and defense, and had it not been for the heroics of much-maligned `keeper David De Gea, the result wouldn’t have been close.
Led by their 19-year-old emerging star Iker Muniain, Athletic dominated possession, displayed more craft, and simply had more ideas when it came to their attack. As it was, De Gea made three amazing one-handed saves on Muniain alone, and it was hardly his fault he couldn’t keep more out.
Playing brisk, one-touch football, Athletic ran United ragged and forced fullbacks Rafael and Patrice Evra to stay at home rather than surging forward, as both men prefer to do. Yet, Ryan Giggs and Wayne Rooney were both impressive on the night, and when Giggs found Rooney for the opener, home fans might have thought things would stick to script.
In fact, Athletic had been better before that pinning back and would soon prove it, with Markael Susaeta the creator for Fernando Llorente to head home down the gut. Susaeta and Muniain would continue to pass around a United midfield that looked badly in need of steadying, with the two combining for a series of passes that resulted in Ander Herrera’s chip over the back line for Oscar De Marcos to finish well.
De Marcos would be involved in both late goals, first smashing one at De Gea that the `keeper did well to parry, only to see Muniain nip past the defense to finish through him near post. Then, at the other end, De Marcos was correctly penalized for a handball in the box to set up a penalty kick that Rooney converted to retain some hope for the Red Devils.
The verdict is likely to be grim. Athletic passed the ball at will through United all night, and a stone-faced Ferguson admitted after the game that his team was both well-beaten and lacking in defensive steel. Only partisans are likely to favor United in the return leg next Thursday, and if one has the feeling that the sun is setting on an era — that could be because it is.
In Lisbon, Roberto Mancini had know Yaya Toure and was unprepared to lose Vincent Kompany so early. Joleon Lescott was hardly an adequate replacement and despite several close calls and meetings with the woodwork, it’s hard to argue the Portuguese didn’t fully deserve their 1-0 win.
Xandao’s backheeled goal, following a solid double save off a Matias Fernandez free kick by Joe Hart, was the difference on the scoresheet, but on the field it was the lack of experience and ideas that stood out most sharply.
David Silva was well-marshaled by Sporting’s back four, Kun Aguero was left grasping for scraps, and when Edin Dzeko was finally removed for the more bullying Mario Balotelli, it must have come as a relief to both him and the City fans. Aleksandr Kolarov came close twice for the Sky Blues, but they rarely looked the same confident side that English teams are used to facing each week.
Mancini is likely to point out that in a game of inches, the rebounds off Rui Patricio’s posts and bar might easily have gone another way, but the truth is that until late, the home `keeper was never tested. Not so for Hart, who was peppered by relentless counter-attacks from a seasoned Sporting side used to seeing out games on the continent.
If City can take away a silver lining, it is that Ricky van Wolfswinkel was unable to move through the gears, becoming a non-factor on the night. They still have a chance to erase the deficit at home, and will get the irreplaceable Yaya Toure back to boot. Wrapping up the rest of the games, Atletico Madrid steamrolled the Black Eagles of Besiktas, with Eduardo Salvio scoring two goals to lead them to a 3-1 win. Former Madrista Simao pulled one back for the Turks late, but this was no contest.
Olympiakos got a big road win over ten-man Metalist after Edmar was ejected. David Fuster capitalized on a mistake by keeper Oleksandr Goryainov for the game’s only goal. The game was ill-tempered, as eight cards were dished out , but the Hungarian refereeing crew also has to bear some of the blame: they seemed over-matched by the occasion.
Valencia seemed well on their way to a comprehensive win but allowed PSV two late goals that could prove costly. Ola Toivonen scored from the spot after Jeremy Mathieu felled Kevin Strootman with seven minutes to play. Georginio Wijnaldum would add a second as time expired to mean the Dutch have all to play for next week at home.
Steve Cherunolo’s Hannover recovered to get a 2-2 draw in Belgium against Standard Liege, while Jozy Altidore set up a goal to lead AZ Alkmaar to a solid 2-0 win over Udinese. Jermaine Jones and Schalke weren’t so fortunate, as they had Joel Matip sent off against Twente and lost 1-0 in Holland.
